Award-winning New York-based earned media and buzz agency Havas PR today announced three new hires and four promotions in locations across the U.S.
"We're thrilled to advance this outstanding group of people from several offices and locations," said Marian Salzman, Havas PR CEO and Havas PR Global Collective chair. "They share one common attribute: agility, as well as our agency's love of the craft of making, promoting and sharing news for our clients."
In New York, Melanie Klausner joined Havas PR as senior vice president, providing leadership and counsel to corporate and consumer clients of the New York office. She has more than 15 years' experience in the lifestyle, food and beverage, and travel and hospitality industries, as well as expertise with corporate reputation, issues management, cause, sustainability and education. Melanie specializes in results-oriented strategies and creative tactics that bring fresh perspectives to client messaging. Before joining Havas PR, Melanie was at Finn Partners and managed New York State's I LOVE NY tourism campaign, including the launch of the TASTE NY program.
Nikki Kria has joined Havas PR's New York office as an account supervisor, supporting accounts including the 4A's, Pinterest and ManpowerGroup. She previously served as global communications manager at J. Walter Thompson, where she managed corporate communications and supported C-suite staff. She has a bachelor's degree in Italian studies from the University of Pennsylvania and is an alumna of Prep for Prep, a leadership development program that offers students of color access to a private school education.
In Havas PR's Pittsburgh office, Stacey Simon has been hired as account supervisor. In her new role, she will support several health-focused accounts, including LivaNova. She brings over 10 years of experience of delivering strong results for media relations and social media campaigns in the healthcare and insurance industries. Prior to joining Havas PR, Stacey served as the social media and wellness marketing lead for United Concordia Dental. She started her career in media relations at UPMC and earned her bachelor's degree in public relations and advertising from Point Park University.
Stephanie Clarke has been promoted for the third time since launching Havas PR's Southwest office in 2015. Named vice president, she will now oversee the agency's consumer and lifestyle accounts across the country. Stephanie serves as day-to-day lead for the accounts that run out of Phoenix, including Fox Restaurant Concepts. Over the past two years, she has opened a satellite office in Denver, executed award-winning pro bono work, earned many new clients and built a successful internship program with the University of Arizona.
Ellen Mallernee Barnes has been promoted to vice president of content after six years of "permalancing" with Havas PR. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, she manages content creation across the agency's clients, crafting op-eds, blog posts, white papers, press releases and messaging documents that help land Havas PR clients in the likes of Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, USA Today and top trade publications. She previously served as editorial director for Gibson Guitar and has a background in journalism.
In New York, Taylor Jeffrey has been promoted to operations manager and now oversees production and business operations across the agency. Since December 2015, she's served as an account executive and executive assistant to Havas PR CEO Marian Salzman. Taylor graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
About Havas PR
Havas PR, headquartered in New York City, is known for its agility and for excellence in corporate and consumer reputation management, executive branding, and health-and-wellness marketing communications. For more information, go to us.havaspr.com.
